Jade Carberry (foreground) and Loren Lee of the Public Relations Department, Jamaica Broilers Group, get into every nook and cranny of the building with their paint brushes, while Collin West (background), a painter from Food For The Poor, oversees their efforts.

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The Best Dressed Chicken (BDC) headed to Chateau district, Clarendon, recently to assist Food For The Poor in constructing a home for Mrs Patricia Howell. The company had participated in the Food For The Poor 5K Walk/Run held in May of this year and had committed, at that time, to cover the cost to gift a house to a candidate on the Food For The Poor database residing in St Catherine or Clarendon. After careful review, Howell was selected as a suitable recipient.

Upon arrival, the BDC team of volunteers were able to see at first-hand Howell's living conditions, which had previously been described to them by Food For The Poor.

"We knew prior to our arrival here that Mrs Howell and her eight children were living in a small shack constructed primarily of fabric and zinc, with a makeshift cardboard roof. Her home did not include electrical fittings, and kitchen and bathroom facilities were rustic outdoor solutions. When we learned about this, we knew she was the candidate we needed to help," said Lorraine Kemble, brand manager, BDC.

NON-STOP EFFORT

The BDC and Food For The Poor teams got to work quickly, as they needed to complete the formidable task of constructing a home from the ground up and in one day no less. A delighted Marsha Burrell-Rose, develop-ment and marketing manager, Food For The Poor, commended the BDC team for their valiant efforts.

"You guys really worked hard. I was saying to Lorraine, we know that when you come, you and you're team are going to be sitting down ... but you guys just never stopped," she said, evoking both laughter and applause from the tired volunteers.

"I am humbled for BDC as well as myself personally, to be involved in this activity," said Kemble. "It is awesome to give back and to be physically involved in doing the work. It's a lot of hard work, but as our company celebrates 60 years together, it is important for us to embrace community development initiatives, which have been a big part of our mission from the very start - impacting the lives of others and building goodwill."

Howell's family also got involved in the activity on site. Kemar Sutherland, Howell's 27-year-old son, helped to unload construction materials and mix cement.

The BDC team provided constant refreshment for those on site throughout the activity, with Reggae Jammin' hot dogs to 'stop the gap' and a Best Dressed Chicken meal for lunch.

Howell, being a woman of few words, smiled from ear to ear as she thanked the team for her new home.

"I feel good. I thank all of you guys, I appreciate it very much," said Howell.

Avadaugn Sinclair, BDC marketing manager, handed over the keys to the newly constructed house to Howell, who held them high for everyone to see before finally opening the door to her new home for the first time.

"Today we wanted to give another family some hope. We want to impact communities. Our mission statement starts, 'With God's guidance' and ends with the building of goodwill. We are excited to be able to fulfil that mandate here," said Sinclair.